How’s this for an understatement: The year 2025 was a crummy one for Deion Sanders.
Coming off the high of a nine-win season and a Heisman Trophy year for two-way star Travis Hunter in 2024, it was all good… until it wasn’t.
The transfer portal, which had been so good to Sanders and his Colorado football program the year before, stopped giving and began taking. Deion orchestrated jersey retirements for Hunter and his son, lightning-rod quarterback Shedeur Sanders. The majority of old-school Buffalo faithful didn’t care for Shedeur’s – and let Deion know about it.
Then Shedeur – expected to be a high draft pick – fell to the sixth round, reportedly due to attitude issues rather than football skills. Deion then found himself on the defensive with formerly favorable media types.
Most importantly, the Pro Football Hall-of-Famer and third year coach suffered a major, life-threating health scare when it was discovered he had developed bladder cancer. Miraculous work by the people at UC Health saved his life, and Sanders was rightly generous with his praise.
Still, Deion couldn’t be around his team much in the spring and summer for good reason. In the fall, things went south. After a shocking mid-season win over nationally ranked Iowa State at Folsom Field, the Buffs went deep into the tank. They lost their last five games, including twice giving up more than 50 points, and finished 3-9.
2026 couldn’t get here fast enough.
Now here we are, three months before kickoff, and Deion may be getting his mojo back.
After having filled his previous coaching staff(s) with former NFL players and coaches, Sanders rebuilt this year’s staff with a lot more college football people. Those guys with little or no previous coaching experience, like Marshall Faulk and Warren Sapp, are gone. Faulk left for a job at HBCU program Southern, while Sapp just… left.
The transfer portal, once Deion’s bestie, took away most of his best players, but the return – at least on paper – appears to be greater than it was the year before. Top quarterback prospect Julian ‘Ju Ju’ Lewis stuck around, which made a significant statement, especially considering Colorado’s high-profile losses.
Most importantly, Deion is healthy and back to being combative with media critics, social and otherwise. He’s been quick to take on detractors of his QB son, and wants to meet with Todd Monken – the Cleveland Browns new head coach – to talk about it. He’s put a new emphasis on high school recruiting, something that went almost unattended in previous years. He’s announced professional-style $2,500 fines for players who miss practice.
The 2026 schedule is daunting once again, with the opener at Georgia Tech just 13 weeks away. A trip to Northwestern is a couple weeks after that, with Big 12 bullies Texas Tech, Utah and Arizona State also on tap. Getting back to a bowl game will be difficult. Some in the media have placed Deion squarely on the hot seat.
Colorado has a new athletic director, Fernando Lovo. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t be a good sign for a struggling head football coach. But there’s nothing normal about Deion Sanders. The fact that he’s back to rattling cages with his commentary and boasting about his son’s marketing deals should be good news for Buffaloes fans. That’s Deion being Deion. That’s the guy you celebrated when he was hired as the head coach. Enjoy the ride. It won’t be boring.
